Week 17
Week in Review
Monday July 30, 2018
Today, “Team A” started class with a pray-in, followed by watching the last of our lessons in Art History. We’ve finally come to the end of our journey down the path of art history. We actually enjoyed the lessons. Many of us didn’t know much about painters, and we were able to “meet” Monet, Pissarro, Renoir and Manet. We’ve been waiting on this last Art History lesson – we expected a pop quiz on it, but we were surprised with a different celebration: the entire PEP room joined us in a “Chicken Dance Kick-off.” The last time we danced the Chicken Dance was two or three months ago so, we were a little rusty at the start, but as we went along we got the hang of it again and we had fun.
We’re getting closer to graduation and we feel the pressure being released on us. Today we also had commissary day, so we handed out some awards for our class of Legacy ‘18. We really enjoy it when we are recognized by our peers as we praise each other for things we do, not only in PEP but outside of the classroom as well. Another great thing is that many of us are going the extra mile to help our new Phase One brothers study and prepare themselves for Phase Two, since now we have plenty of time on our hands – this week, we will take our last test on Crime and Punishment.
Michael B. (a.k.a. “Evander Holyfield”)
Tuesday July 31, 2018
Today in class, “Team B” watched the last couple of art history videos. It was really interesting to see the different kinds of art styles and learn about the artists’ lives as well. We have watched a total of about 24 art history videos already. The artists that stand out to me the most are Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Carl Bodmer and Camille Pissarro. We studied artists from the 1800s and early 1900s. Many of them were from Europe, with a few exceptions. After all of the videos, we were glad that we got that out the way so we can now move on to something else. We are going to miss Richard, our Art History teacher from the University of Texas at Dallas – he was the instructor in the videos teaching us. Hopefully, we can see some more of the works from the impressionists of 1877 again.
We also awarded some of the brothers with merit stickers to put on their Coats of Arms. They consist of the 10 Driving Values. We award them to brothers who are staying on the ball with a particular Driving Value. Many of us get them, and some get more than one at a time. I’m glad that everybody is doing such a great job.
After all of that, we had some fun and danced the Macarena. The Macarena was a bit of a workout because of all the moving and jumping around. We got to learn, have fun and work out, all in one day. We love PEP!
Charles E. (a.k.a. “Sweet Trail Mix”)
Wednesday August 1, 2018
Remember when you wanted to accomplish something major? Anything that was worth doing was never really easy, and it often took a while to complete. It takes time, effort and dedication. That’s how the Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) has been. It’s been a college course curriculum with a focus on character. It was never easy, nor was it ever quick. Today, my PEP brothers and I took our last test that we would be taking as part of the curriculum. Everybody was serious up until that point. This last test was a review of a lot of the vocabulary we have learned from the book Crime and Punishment. All of us have tried our best on every test. After we finished taking this final test, that’s when the fun began. We looked toward our other brothers in the room and gave them congratulatory handshakes, hugs and high fives.
At this point we broke up into groups and began working on our “Coats of Arms,” which is a picture (selfie) connected to a picture of our choice that we color. The pictures varied from Dragon Ball Z, Captain America, Thunder Cats and many more, or you could simply choose to draw your own. We took these pictures, cut them out and placed them on a piece of colored construction paper of our choosing. Then after we glued everything on, we began coloring all of our individual Coat of Arms and talking among ourselves. In the end, all of us have bonded and gotten a lot closer with each other than we originally were. The truth is, we built up quite a bit of camaraderie in the short eight months that we’ve been working with each other so far.
Rafael C. (a.k.a. “Spice Girl”)
Thursday August 2, 2018
Our emcees, Jimmie H. and Kelsey M., started the day off on the right foot. Kevin G. and Oscar F. relieved Lamarco M. and me of our assignment checker job duties for the Phase One men, since we had taken care of those duties on Tuesday. We prayed in and showed love. Today we had a special surprise: Keith B., one of our most-loved executives, returned from vacation. Keith shared a few words of wisdom, and then we watched a Robert Lewis video about Genesis and man’s fallen nature. It also talked about how God made man the leader and gave him a job to do. We broke into groups, where we talked about how the Genesis story makes us feel as men and the increased responsibility it makes us feel, and how Adam’s passivity has passed on in my life. Thomas K., Gilbert A., Mandy M., and Terrick S. were a part of the group I led.
Afterward, we celebrated three birthdays, followed by Charles B.’s testimony. After the testimony, Lino V. and Pedro G. gave the Phase One participants a presentation on developing a personal brand. Next, Michael B. and Jack O. delivered a presentation on execution. Then, Yusuf A. and Michael M. delivered the last presentation for the day on the character trait execution. Finally, our day came to an end; we prayed together, hugged and shook hands and exited the PEP room.
Vincent C. (a.k.a. “Mucas Man”)
Expressions
Friday August 3, 2018
“Live everyday with the wind to your back and the sun to your face.”
I try to live by this quote. The wind is the cold, negative force that will always be there, and the sun is the warm, positive force that will always be there as well. My take from this quote is that I use the wind to push or motivate me toward the positive, the sun. The sun is the warming, nurturing force. I also think of this quote in this manner: the wind is the support system that pushes me to achieve my goals and those goals are what I look at as the sun.
Another quote is: “Learn from your mistakes”. That’s what I’m doing. I no longer let the negative push or direct my life, but I choose to face and go toward and embrace the positive. We have to realize that we have the freedom of choice. We can choose to live a negative lifestyle or we can choose to live our lives in a positive way. We all make mistakes, but we have to not only learn from our mistakes but also learn other people’s mistakes. Every day is a challenge, but I choose to face it with the wind to my back and the sun in my face. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you’re focused on your goals and you have the right people around you. So I will live everyday with the wind to my back and the sun to my face.
William C. (a.k.a. “Barbershop Man”)